STRESS brought on by debt problems led to 8.7m lost working days in the last 12 months - and cost employers é497m.

More than 250,000 people took more than a month off work last year as a result of money worries, according to Chorley-based Debt Free Direct, the independent counselling service. "It's not only people with money problems who suffer but also their loved ones and their employers," said Debt Free Direct's chief executive, Andrew Redmond.

"Debt is a growing problem that is adversely affecting all aspects of society and more action needs to be taken to address it. Debt-related stress is fuelled by the feeling that you are unable to talk through your problems.

"People often cannot turn to loved ones because they are ashamed or embarrassed about their situation. Instead, they want to close up and hide away from the facts of the problem when really they should find someone to advise them."

New figures from financial research company Consumer Intelligence have revealed that the nation has up to é145bn in secured and unsecured personal loans.

Over a third of the adult population - some 17.6m people - currently have personal loans, averaging é8,270, but almost a million have borrowed more than é20,000.